There are a large number of U.S. patents covering details of the familiar folding egg carton, which embodies the concept of the subject container, but in which the cover is hinged along a fold line integrally moulded between the cover and the tray.
It is the object of this invention to create a container which avoids the requirement for a moulded fold line connecting the cover and the tray together. By eliminating also the traditional hinged locking flap according to the teaching of U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,908 awarded to Emery in 1986, the selection of the raw materials for manufacture of the container is not limited by the requirement for foldability at a hinge line. In accordance with this invention, the cover and tray may be separately manufactured and thereafter joined. This allows the moulding and printing of said cover, and the moulding and filling of the tray while said cover and said tray are still separated. The use of a container modified in this way is made practical by the provision, on line in the filling operation, of a simple and precise mechanism for fitting and closing the cover on the tray.